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Maangchi’s Cheese Buldak (Fire Chicken)

Course Main Course
Cuisine North America
Keyword Cheese, Chicken
Servings 4

Ingredients

  • 60 ml gochugaru (Korean red-pepper flakes)
  • 2 tbs gochujang (Korean red-pepper paste)
  • 3 tbs light brown sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
  • 2.5 cm piece ginger peeled and minced
  • 1 tbs soy sauce
  • ½ tbs black pepper freshly ground
  • 1 pound chicken thighs boneless and skinless
  • 2 tbs neutral oil
  • 120 gr Korean rice cakes
  • 200 gr mozzarella low-moisture
  • 2 scallions sliced, for garnish

Instructions

  1. Combine the gochugaru, gochujang, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and black pepper in a medium bowl and mix well. Add the chicken (cut into 2 cm cubes) and stir until it is well coated.

  2. If you’re using the rice cakes (sliced), swirl the oil into a large, oven-safe skillet set over medium-high heat and wait for it to shimmer. Add the rice cakes and cook, turning the cakes often, until they are a little crisp, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the rice cakes to a small bowl and set aside. If you’re not using rice cakes, simply swirl the oil into the pan and move along to the next step.

  3. Add the chicken mixture to the pan along with 60 ml water. Cover and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes, stirring in the rice cakes halfway through, if using.
  4. Meanwhile, heat the broiler in your oven.

  5. Remove the chicken from the heat. Cover the pan with the thinly sliced mozzarella, then slide the pan under the broiler. Cook until the cheese has melted and browned in spots, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oven, and sprinkle with scallions.

  6. Serve immediately, with rice.

Recipe Notes

By Sam Sifton / Emily Kim (the Korean web star known as Maangchi), in the NYT. https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1020366-maangchis-cheese-buldak-fire-chicken